A foreigner’s first impression of the U.S. is likely to be that everyone is in a rush-often under pressure. City people appear always to be hurrying to get where they are going restlessly, seeking attention in a store, and elbowing others as they try to complete their errands （任务）. Racing through daytime meals is part of the pace of life in this country.

Working time is considered precious. Others in public eating places are waiting for you to finish so that they too can be served and get back to work within the time allowed. Each person hurries to make room for the next person. If you don’t, waiters will hurry you.

You also find drivers will be abrupt and that people will push past you. You will miss smiles, brief conversations, and small courtesies with strangers. Don’t take it personally. This is because people value time highly, and they resent someone else “wasting” it beyond a certain courtesy point.

The view of time affects the importance we attach to patience. In the American system of values, patience is not a high priority. Many of us have what might be called “a short fuse.” We begin to move restlessly about if we feel time is slipping away without some returnbe this in terms of pleasure, work value, or rest. Those coming from lands where time is looked upon differently may find this matter of pace to be one of their most difficult adjustments in both business and daily life.

Many newcomers to the States will miss the opening courtesy of a business call, for example, they will miss the ritual socializing that goes with a welcoming cup of tea or coffee they may be traditional in their own country. They may miss leisurely business chats in a café or coffeehouse. Normally, Americans do not assess their visitors in such relaxed surroundings over prolonged small talks. We seek out evidence of past performance rather than evaluate a business colleague through social courtesies. Since we generally assess and probe professionally rather than socially, we start talking business very quickly.

解题思路：这是一道词义推测题，我们通常需要根据上下文的线索来猜测词义。就本题而言，划线词所在句子的大意是“在美国人的价值体系里，耐心并不是一个high priority。”在这一句之前，作者提到 “The view of time affects the importance we attach to patience.”（对待时间的观点影响了对待耐心的重要程度）。在这段之前，作者已经提到，美国人生活节奏快，非常珍惜时间，匆忙是美国人的生活写照，因此我们可以推断美国人对待耐心的重视并不是他们价值体系的首要因素，随后作者又提到“Many of us have what might be called “a short fuse.””（很多人都是所谓的急性子）。因此我们可以确定选择答案B。

3.[单选题]We can infer from the passage that the author’s tone in writing is ___________.

解题思路：这是一道细节题，本题询问“美国人通过什么来评价他们的生意伙伴？”。一般对于细节题，我们需要查找信息所对应的句子或者句群。本题的关键词是a business colleague，我们通过浏览全文，可以将这个信息定位在第五段里，细读之后发现主要在最后两句话里，特别是在句子“We seek out evidence of past performance rather than evaluate a business colleague through social courtesies.”（我们对于生意伙伴不是通过社交礼仪，而是通过过去的业绩来做出评价的）。因此我们确定选择答案D。

5.[单选题]Which of the following statements is wrong?

A.Americans seem to be always under pressure

B.Americans attach less importance to patience

C.Americans don’t care much about ritual socializing

D.Americans are impolite to their business colleagues

解题思路：这是一道细节题，本题询问“以下哪条叙述是错误的？”。一般对于细节题，我们需要查找信息所对应的句子或者句群。选项A所对应的句子就是这篇文章的第一句话，也是文章的主题句，“A foreigner’s first impression of the U.S. is likely to be that everyone is in a rush—often under pressure.”（一名外国人对于美国的第一印象就是每个人都行色匆匆，这常常是迫于压力）。选项B对应第四段的第二句话“In the American system of values, patience is not a high priority.”（在美国人的价值体系里，耐心并非首位）。选项C对应第五段的第一句话“Many consumers to the States will miss the opening courtesy of a business call, for example, they will miss the ritual socializing that goes with a welcoming cup of tea or coffee that may be traditional in their own country.”（很多刚来美国的客户会怀念商务电话中的礼貌开场白，例如，他们会怀念伴着咖啡或茶的欢迎社交仪式，这在他们国家可能是传统）。这里我们需要推断美国人并不在意社交礼仪，但这并不是暗示美国人对他们的商务伙伴不礼貌，所以选项D是错误的。